WEB UPDATE - Castalia man convicted of stabbing drinking buddy

A Castalia man pleaded guilty Thursday to stabbing his bar-hopping companion during an Uptown Norwalk altercation.

Patrick “Pablo” S. Ringle, 19, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault for the June 10 incident on the northwest corner of Seminary Street and Benedict Avenue. The victim suffered a 2-inch by 2-inch knife wound right below the hip bone.

“It wasn’t a real bad wound, but you can’t have that going on,” Huron County Prosecutor Russell Leffler said.

Ringle was with a group of people who were drinking. Detectives have said Ringle argued at some point with the victim at a Benedict Avenue bar over a previous incident when the man supposedly scratched the victim’s ex-girlfriend.

The ex-girlfriend left the bar with the man and Ringle decided to “defend her honor,” Leffler said.

When the judge asked Ringle if the prosecutor’s account was accurate, Ringle “stood up and said, ‘I was the designated driver,’” Leffler recalled. “I didn’t think (being the) designated driver is a good defense for stabbing someone.”

Ringle faces six to 18 months in prison and a maximum fine of $5,000 when he is sentenced Oct. 23.